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Lalita and Other Short Stories: The Unseen Women Of India
A poignant collection of short stories that provides a vivid glimpse into the lives of women in India, spanning diverse socio-economic backgrounds and experiences. These slice-of-life stories on the marginalization, and gender-based oppression that women face daily in a patriarchal society, also speak of their resilience.
From a teenage girl navigating the challenges of growing up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood to a wealthy, sophisticated woman in a bustling metropolitan city, the characters in these stories are familiar and reflect the complex tapestry of womanhood in modern India.
This eclectic collection of 10 stories about women who go unnoticed and unheard will evoke compassion.
From a teenage girl navigating the challenges of growing up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood to a wealthy, sophisticated woman in a bustling metropolitan city, the characters in these stories are familiar and reflect the complex tapestry of womanhood in modern India.
This eclectic collection of 10 stories about women who go unnoticed and unheard will evoke compassion.
118 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 17, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 14, 2026
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Lalita and other short stories is a collection of ten short stories each named after the woman character the story revolves around.
Lalita is about a young woman whose husband working in the Indian army in the Siachen area went missing a few days after their marriage and how Lalita’s life is affected and how she processes this grief.
Jahnvi is about a teenage girl who works as her mother’s replacement as a house help, and when she faces abuse at work and is advised about using #MeToo will Jahnvi be able to report the abuse or does it work only for the privileged?
Baanu is about a eighty-seven-year old lady who lived alone after her husband passed away and is at the mercy of her niece Freny who taunted Baanu more and cared less for her. What fortune does Baanu have that will keep Freny invested in Baanu’s well-being?
Priya is about a middle-aged-woman who recently developed a friends’ circle of rich friends and when Priya wants to match her other friend’s lifestyle, her mother-in-law has reservations. Ironically her father-in-law has a similar opinion about her mother-in-law Shobha’s expenses.
Indu is a twenty-nine-year old woman who seems to be crossing her marriageable age much to the panic of her single mother who is worried about finding a match for Indu. Indu has to decide between a silent admirer at work versus loveless arranged marriage.
Mrs. Saxena is about Mr. and Mrs. Saxena, how their lives changed over the years with Mr. Saxena being very particular about his daily timetable and Mrs. Saxena nonchalant towards it.
Geeta Bua is a child-less widow who is looked after by her extended family but that meant she went and stayed with each family for a few months and mostly they invited her over when they needed her help. Geeta bua had the most tricky situation when two families wanted her presence at the same time and refusing to visit either of them meant permanently facing their wrath.
Bhavna is getting ready to marry her sweetheart Vikas in five weeks but Vikas and his family wanted Bhavna to change her name after marriage. Bhavna who always hated her name jumped at this opportunity to pick a new name for herself, her younger sister Reena hated this whole name-changing exercise.
Laajo is thankful to her elder sister for all her help and support through the years and as a token of gratitude invites a prospective groom for her Didi’s daughter Chando. After meeting the boy’s family will Didi be grateful to Laajo or will Laajo’s arrogance be revealed?
Tara is the daughter of Chanda, who is from a backward caste and earned a living by cleaning houses and bathrooms in her locality. Chanda is treated as an untouchable by the women who employed her, so did the other house helpers who behaved like they were superior to Chanda. When Tara suddenly gets married, Tara reminds everyone whether money or caste is of more significance in this society.
All the stories have a female protagonist and interestingly the other characters with negative shades also are mostly women. All stories are set up in simple and relatable backdrops. Most characters feel like the ones we met at some point in our life, in our extended family, in our neighbourhood or at our workplace. The issues addressed by the author in the stories are also very relatable, most are the ones we experience in our daily life but may ignore them instead of addressing them.
Lalita’s story speaks about society’s expectations of grief for women, Jahnvi’s about abuse being pushed aside instead of punishing the perpetrators, Baanu’s story raises the question around surviving old age at the mercy of selfish relatives, Priya’s story is about family members imposing rules for the younger ones without realising they are also committing the same mistakes. Indu’s story highlights the harsh reality of arranged marriages in our society as a girl’s marriage is often seen as a burden by the parents and most men look at their wives as free maids for their mothers.
Tara signifies the current generation of kids who do not accept inferior treatment based on their caste or social standing. Laajo highlights the difference between gratitude and arrogance. Geeta Bua is the most heart wrenching story among all the stories, as child-less widows who are, like Baanu, looked after by relatives only when it is beneficial for them.
While the author raises some important questions about our society and how women are treated in different situations and circumstances, few among the ten stories leave an impact, and others feel under-developed. I think short stories are normally concluded without a proper ending by authors, mostly to leave it to the reader’s imagination and the same works in favour of few stories while others felt incomplete.
With simple stories that leave a good impact on the reader, Lalita and Other Stories makes for a good one time read.
Lalita and other short stories is a collection of ten short stories each named after the woman character the story revolves around.
Lalita is about a young woman whose husband working in the Indian army in the Siachen area went missing a few days after their marriage and how Lalita’s life is affected and how she processes this grief.
Jahnvi is about a teenage girl who works as her mother’s replacement as a house help, and when she faces abuse at work and is advised about using #MeToo will Jahnvi be able to report the abuse or does it work only for the privileged?
Baanu is about a eighty-seven-year old lady who lived alone after her husband passed away and is at the mercy of her niece Freny who taunted Baanu more and cared less for her. What fortune does Baanu have that will keep Freny invested in Baanu’s well-being?
Priya is about a middle-aged-woman who recently developed a friends’ circle of rich friends and when Priya wants to match her other friend’s lifestyle, her mother-in-law has reservations. Ironically her father-in-law has a similar opinion about her mother-in-law Shobha’s expenses.
Indu is a twenty-nine-year old woman who seems to be crossing her marriageable age much to the panic of her single mother who is worried about finding a match for Indu. Indu has to decide between a silent admirer at work versus loveless arranged marriage.
Mrs. Saxena is about Mr. and Mrs. Saxena, how their lives changed over the years with Mr. Saxena being very particular about his daily timetable and Mrs. Saxena nonchalant towards it.
Geeta Bua is a child-less widow who is looked after by her extended family but that meant she went and stayed with each family for a few months and mostly they invited her over when they needed her help. Geeta bua had the most tricky situation when two families wanted her presence at the same time and refusing to visit either of them meant permanently facing their wrath.
Bhavna is getting ready to marry her sweetheart Vikas in five weeks but Vikas and his family wanted Bhavna to change her name after marriage. Bhavna who always hated her name jumped at this opportunity to pick a new name for herself, her younger sister Reena hated this whole name-changing exercise.
Laajo is thankful to her elder sister for all her help and support through the years and as a token of gratitude invites a prospective groom for her Didi’s daughter Chando. After meeting the boy’s family will Didi be grateful to Laajo or will Laajo’s arrogance be revealed?
Tara is the daughter of Chanda, who is from a backward caste and earned a living by cleaning houses and bathrooms in her locality. Chanda is treated as an untouchable by the women who employed her, so did the other house helpers who behaved like they were superior to Chanda. When Tara suddenly gets married, Tara reminds everyone whether money or caste is of more significance in this society.
All the stories have a female protagonist and interestingly the other characters with negative shades also are mostly women. All stories are set up in simple and relatable backdrops. Most characters feel like the ones we met at some point in our life, in our extended family, in our neighbourhood or at our workplace. The issues addressed by the author in the stories are also very relatable, most are the ones we experience in our daily life but may ignore them instead of addressing them.
Lalita’s story speaks about society’s expectations of grief for women, Jahnvi’s about abuse being pushed aside instead of punishing the perpetrators, Baanu’s story raises the question around surviving old age at the mercy of selfish relatives, Priya’s story is about family members imposing rules for the younger ones without realising they are also committing the same mistakes. Indu’s story highlights the harsh reality of arranged marriages in our society as a girl’s marriage is often seen as a burden by the parents and most men look at their wives as free maids for their mothers.
Tara signifies the current generation of kids who do not accept inferior treatment based on their caste or social standing. Laajo highlights the difference between gratitude and arrogance. Geeta Bua is the most heart wrenching story among all the stories, as child-less widows who are, like Baanu, looked after by relatives only when it is beneficial for them.
While the author raises some important questions about our society and how women are treated in different situations and circumstances, few among the ten stories leave an impact, and others feel under-developed. I think short stories are normally concluded without a proper ending by authors, mostly to leave it to the reader’s imagination and the same works in favour of few stories while others felt incomplete.
With simple stories that leave a good impact on the reader, Lalita and Other Stories makes for a good one time read.
March 20, 2025
This book is a collection of ten short stories that explore the lives of women from diverse backgrounds in India. Through light yet thought-provoking narratives, the author provides a glimpse into their daily experiences and the way they are treated within their homes and society. The writing style is engaging and conversational, making it feel as though the characters are speaking directly to the reader.
While each story begins with promise, many of them conclude rather abruptly. A more detailed closure of each chapter would have enhanced the overall impact. That said, the book cover is beautifully designed, and I particularly enjoyed the stories of Priya and Mrs. Saxena.
March 5, 2025
An excellent collection of women-centric stories. The stories were simple, but very close to real life. They talked about the simple desires of women and how very often they suppress them
I really enjoyed the title story Lalita. Another story that made its mark was Mrs. Saxena
I really enjoyed the title story Lalita. Another story that made its mark was Mrs. Saxena
March 25, 2025
This book is a good collection of stories which are happening around us in real life with real women facing various societal issues. Go ahead and read about them
April 29, 2025
Short stories which seem to capture the reality of a lot of south Asian women, too sad though as the injustice and backwards mentalities some of the stories depicted have me no hope :-(
April 30, 2025
All the short stories were so relatable.. it felt like I was reading a book about the women around me. A Good read indeed!
December 23, 2025
We all know a Tara, Laajo, or a Baanu in our vicinity. However, it takes a special person to see through their mundane life and tell their story so beautifully. I loved each one of these and wish to read many more such stories from the author in the future.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews